I think the answer to the OP's question might have to do with the eminently uninteresting AND errant tone and themes of the discussion here: "Old stuff was great, new stuff is shite".

Hey you kids! Off of my lawn with your hippity hoppin and rappity rappin! Lawrence Welk is REAL music!

Dudes, there's galaxies more, and more interesting, and better recorded, and more varied, music now than ever. Just 'cause no one's spoon feeding the best of it over airwaves to the masses is nothing to get all huffy or despondent about.

The narrator in the video that this discussion is supposed to be about never said that "new music is shit." The issue is the quality of the majority of stuff at the top of the charts these days. As the narrator stated and I think most of us would agree, there is still a lot of great music being made by many excellent artists. However, the music industry isn't taking any chances on losing money by promoting unfamiliar artists. So, one has to get past the Billboard charts to find good stuff. That wasn't the case in the past, mass market tastes were more diversified and there wasn't the present reluctance we see on the part of major labels to invest in new artist R&D.

So true. But the buy in for all-in-one isn't cheap. The LIO is a fabulous all-in-one, and not expensive at all for what it is, but is still a price tag where many people are going to be thinking for more than a moment about it. I see nothing wrong with the pricing, but rather that paying someone to do something well is such a burden on the income level.

There are a number of ways to get a good sounding system. One of my relatives just re-did his den with a Yamaha AVR, two subwoofers, and Monitor audio in wall speakers. While I'm sure many here would not consider it audiophile, it sounds pretty good for both movies and music (and it was not expensive by high end pricing.) I have a Devialet unit, which provides the same all in one approach as LIO (in a similar price range). The reality is that there just is not the interest in getting a high quality sound system. What interest I've seen in higher quality audio with younger folks is in the portable DAP market. There are a number of good sounding options available in the DAP arena today, as well as quality headphones.

Today's popular pop/rock music just does not interest me. There are some excellent music/artists out there (James Hunter and Joe Bonamassa come to mind), but it's not easy for them to get mainstream exposure.

I think the interest has a relativity to ability to spend. When people look at something they wager whether it'll detract from more important things to them. The flow has direction aligned with interest on a hierarchical structure.

Simple fact, no one can afford to make amazing things for people at the cheap level of what China can do. But China does not do, it is simulacra, merely the idea rather than the full on function.

I'm working on speakers right now. And I think I'm working on unlocking something special. But there is no good way to make it cost nothing. It simply is an impossibility. Even the cheapest goodish speakers you can buy today straight outta china cost $300 (Elac).

Maybe the industry is partly to blame, since no one is offering anything very "new" most of the time. That's problematic with the poor quality of mastering/mixing today. The medium of recorded music as a whole is surprisingly unimpressive.

Today's popular pop/rock music just does not interest me. There are some excellent music/artists out there ..... but it's not easy for them to get mainstream exposure.

I thought "The War on Drugs" was a mainstream band, especially after 6 albums. I played "A Deeper Understanding" during our Saturday morning workout and Maria (60), Suzie (45), and her son Brock (16) had never heard of the band. Next week I'm bringing Thievery Corporation - The Temple of I & I and expect the same results.

I just listened to Woo-Hoo. I'll break it down to show you why that song is far more complex than a modern hit.

Intro - single voice followed by -2) guitar with a riff that then changes in the middle3) add drums4) add vocals5 add saxophone6) stop everything - drum solo7) cowbell to drum solo8 - stop cowbell add guitar with change of guitar riff (8 with a para keeps turning it into a !)9) re-add cowbell10) resume vocal and sax11) guitar solo12) add interplay with drum13)resume vocal14) ending that doesn't sound like any of the rest of the song

It's actually an incredibly complex song with lots of arrangement. All in less than 2 minutes!

And, its sounds like its a real band playing together in a real room.

Not some patchwork of isolated musicians playing on a flat surface like we hear too often today. They played raw and let the flubs fall where they may.

People got excited when they played and danced to the music. Today its too cautious and calculated..... IMHO. The best music I played was live and without a click track. When the people on the floor smiled and laughed, and got more exercise than they would in gym class. We had fun and did not have to get high to get into the music... In one word? " Enthusiasm. " Today its all politically correct... or its become immoral to be moral.

I think the answer to the OP's question might have to do with the eminently uninteresting AND errant tone and themes of the discussion here: "Old stuff was great, new stuff is shite".

Hey you kids! Off of my lawn with your hippity hoppin and rappity rappin! Lawrence Welk is REAL music!

Dudes, there's galaxies more, and more interesting, and better recorded, and more varied, music now than ever. Just 'cause no one's spoon feeding the best of it over airwaves to the masses is nothing to get all huffy or despondent about.

Maybe.... we should read the comment sections of YouTube videos of music of the era when music still had a melody and great harmonies. I have seen a good many sad comments by young people wishing they were alive then, or could hear music played like that today.

And, its not about the age I grew up in. If you love music, the styles of earlier generations will move you too when they wailed and swung. A clarinet solo of Benny Goodman is surprisingly much like a style that Eric Clapton played in some of his solos. I would have never noticed that until... my dad surprised me when the band I was in had rehearsal over the house. We had a lead guitarist who was surprisingly good and would wail with finesse. My dad told me on the side that the guitarist is excellent and would have made a great clarinetist during the swing era. At that time the thought stunned me. Then years later while listening to Sing Sing Sing I finally got what he meant.

Back in earlier generations they may have had a sound and a restraint that we do not immediately relate to.... but when soloing, some of the greats were shredding with all their soul.

if you are into head phones and stream your music can you be considered an audiophile

YES! Interestingly, some of the biggest fanatics with fuses and power cords ARE the head phone users... Not to mention using all sorts of exotic USB filters. They make me look moderate in certain ways.

I watched half the video but don’t buy into it. It’s all available today you just have to go find it. I liked this series to better tie the past to the present http://soundbreaking.com

I listen to all kinds of music including Pop and Rap and enjoy it. I listen on headphones and in the house on good systems and in my horrible car system. I enjoy Audiophile system building and finding the synergy between components. I’ve built my own speakers and gear, its fun. Each generation finds a way to make their contribution and these young kids today are also finding their way on YouTube and their computers. They are making music and connecting with each other. Bravo to them! They like headphones and some of them will grow into a bigger system someday.

I think the interest has a relativity to ability to spend. When people look at something they wager whether it'll detract from more important things to them. The flow has direction aligned with interest on a hierarchical structure.

Simple fact, no one can afford to make amazing things for people at the cheap level of what China can do. But China does not do, it is simulacra, merely the idea rather than the full on function.

I'm working on speakers right now. And I think I'm working on unlocking something special. But there is no good way to make it cost nothing. It simply is an impossibility. Even the cheapest goodish speakers you can buy today straight outta china cost $300 (Elac).

I think another fundamental problem is simply psychological.In 1975 - if you were earning 3 bucks and hour that is the equivalent of $14+ today and $300 is over $1400.

Things sound and "look" more expensive but they really are CHEAPER!!! That $300 ELAC speaker that Folsom mentioned would have "only cost" $63 back then!

Because audiophiles have remained stagnant while the world has changed.

That also reads like, "Over the decades audiiphiles have refused to take the blue pill and believe that physics no longer apply to audio reproduction, they're lost in the past unable to make themselves believe a bluetooth tube charged by USB creates ultra fidelity"

That also reads like, "Over the decades audiiphiles have refused to take the blue pill and believe that physics no longer apply to audio reproduction, they're lost in the past unable to make themselves believe a bluetooth tube charged by USB creates ultra fidelity"e

What, pray tell, is a 'bluetooth tube'?

And I think the "red pill" is arguably that which is demonstrably effective on the sound field in question, and therefore can take the form of things that an older audiophile might be unfamiliar with, and hence mistrust. And the 'blue pill' might include things which do not effect the sound field in discernible, or desirable ways, like expensive cables, 4 figure DACs, or metaphysical 'tweaks'- cable lifters, resonators and the like-, yet which might be more acceptable to the old guard for whatever reason.

JerryM the headphone market has price markup comparable to the audiophile market..and let us not forget the headphone market generated more revenue than any segment within the audiophile market due to smart phones and music services. So the toys of the audiophile have just changed abit..no floor stand speakers and instead ear speakers.